Travel Western North Carolina

Motoring through the Mountains - 1930s: Balsam

Jackson County, N.C.
Altitude: 3,348 feet

As in earlier commentaries on Balsam Gap, the 1939 travel guide North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State mentioned that it was the highest standard gauge railroad crossing in the eastern United States, although in this context the gap was referenced in connection to the highway that traversed it. In coming years Balsam Gap would also be an entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then under construction to link Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Parkway, while planned in the 1930s, would be put on hold with the outbreak of World War II, and it would not be until two decades later that the scenic highway would reach Balsam and provide new motor access to the area’s panoramas.